Electrochemical Oxidation Enables Regioselective and Scalable α-C(sp³)-H Acyloxylation of Sulfides

Abstract

A highly selective, environmentally friendly, and scalable electrochemical protocol for the construction of α-acyloxy sulfides, through the synergistic effect of self-assembly-induced C(sp³)-H/O-H cross-coupling, is reported. It features exceptionally broad substrate scope, high regioselectivity, gram-scale synthesis, construction of complex molecules, and applicability to a variety of nucleophiles. Moreover, the soft X-ray absorption technique and a series of control experiments have been utilized to demonstrate the pivotal role of the self-assembly of the substrates, which indeed is responsible for the excellent compatibility and precise control of high regioselectivity in our electrochemical protocol.